Shinigami Tale
by YinWolvern
Summary: Merle Kaylock is an average Grim Reaper, as well as secretly a maid to a human. Despite other Grim Reapers hating her, her life seems average, or so she thinks. What will happen when she meets a certain demon butler and his young master and her life is thrown into turmoil as she learns just who she is and that not all people are as they seem? OCXSebastian
1. Chapter 1

**So I got bored and decided to do something with an old OC of mine. Enjoy~**

* * *

"Ah, Derrick Matthews."

A scythe was raised into the air, the blade glinting as a stream of moonlight hit it through the opened window. It slashed through the air, causing a soft whistling from its cutting through the air. There was a dull ripping sound, as well a sound of liquid splattering on the linoleum flooring.

"Hmm...46 years old, poisoned by his wife. How sad." A voice murmured in the darkness.

Even though it was dark, there was enough light streaming through the window to reveal the scene of a simple kitchen of a home. The body of a man laid sprawled out on the ground, his face twisted into one of panic and fear. Around his neck were claw marks, as if he were desperate to try to breathe. No doubt it was because of the poison the woman had used on him. On the side of him, a chair had fallen over which showed that he had fallen out of it. His wife had spiked the now could food on the table with it and was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps creating an alibi for herself.

"Truly sad." The voice said again before the silhouetted figure pulled out a book. It opened right to the page with a picture of the dead man on the left hand side. Of course, it was an image from his better days. The book listed the dates of his birth as well as his death, the way of his death, and other facts of the now dead man. Soon the page was stamped with a 'Collected' symbol.

"Soul collected. I guess I'm done for the night." The book was closed and the figure made its way out of the door.

Stepping out into the dimly lit cobblestone street, the figure showed to be that of a young woman. She looked to be only around 20, her hair silver blond that curled at the edges and grew down to her shoulder blades with her bangs parted on either side of her face. Her eyes were a bright yellow-green, still being able to be seen even in the dark. Settled on the bridge of her nose was a pair of round, thin rimmed glasses, the left lens having a small crack running along the outside of the glass.

For a young lady, her outfit was one that definitely was unlike the normal clothing for women of the time. The coat she wore was sleeveless, trailing down to her ankles and black in color, the trim a dark red. The shirt she wore beneath it was sleeveless as well, the pattern being black and white stripped with a black ribbon tied around the collar. She wore a black skirt that stopped at her thighs and wore a pair of red boots that came up to her knees, the toes and heels of the boots black. Around her waist was a chain belt, the decoration of a skull with ruby eyes hung from it. A trinket left to her by her unknown father...

For a moment, she stood there outside the home, closing the door behind her and balancing the scythe on her shoulder. Her hands, slipped in black leather gloves, gripped at the handle of the scythe. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh, a could of mist hanging in the air for a moment before disappearing instantly. Stuff like this wasn't uncommon and she was used to it, it was her job and there was no room to feel bad for humans. But it always made her wonder, when it came to cases like this, what would make lovers turn on one another in such a way that death was the only way it could be solved.

It was, truthfully, stupid. But, then again, most humans were stupid.

When she heard the clicking sound of heels, she quickly went to hide, to avoid being seen. She stood pressed up against the side of an alleyway, leaning out only slightly to get the glimpse of a woman as she came up to the home she had just been at. The woman looked around quickly, as if to investigate if anyone would see her returning. Quickly, she opened the door and walked in. Just a few moments later, a scream was let out by the same woman. To signify she had just found the body of her husband, or as her alibi would say.

"Well, my work here is done." The girl murmured, turning down the alleyway but leaping up onto the rooftops as people's lights began to turn on to see what the commotion was.

* * *

After her soul collecting, the girl made sure to give over her soul collecting reports to William before leaving off on her own, as she usually did. The others never liked to have her around for too long, but kept their mouths shut when it came to business.

For now, she walked down a road that led to an elegant home of that of an aristocrat. For her, it was what she called home, even if her reasons for being there were not that of family. She had nowhere that should call a home. It was more like just a place to stay. But it was a place nonetheless and the woman who owned the home was kind. Moreso than any other people she had known.

She made her way through the gate and into the home, being silent as she did so. She had put the lady of the home to bed not long before she had left and didn't want to wake her.

"Merle, have you returned?" The voice made her jump and she realized that a woman was sitting near the entry way, a book opened up in her lap.

"Madame Cinderford? What are you doing up so late?" The girl asked, making her way to the woman.

The woman laughed, grinning in the direction of the girl. "I couldn't sleep. I thought a book would help."

Merle sighed softly as she came to her. "Come, let's get you to bed."

Vida Cinderford. An aristocrat whom Merle had met years before. The woman to whom she had become a maid to. She was at a young age of 27, taking over a business after the death of her husband. Which normally wasn't to hard a feat, however, for a blind woman, Vida handled it very well. She was a beautiful woman as well. Her auburn hair was cut short to her neck and despite being blind, her eyes were a bright violet. But one could tell the thing she lacked if they were to look at her pupils. Rather, she would normally wear something as a designer ribbon to tie around her eyes. A mystery was always something to enjoy, as Vida would put it.

Merle removed the braille book from her lap and set it aside, Vida 'looking' up at her and smiling. "Was the job hard tonight?" She asked curiously.

The woman was the only human who knew Merle as both her maid as well as the other job she had. Perhaps the only person she trusted to have such information. "Not truly. Just the normal, Madam." She explained, helping her to her feet and leading her back towards her room. Vida held to Merle's arm and allowed the girl to lead her.

"I'm not so sure on that. If I had to deal with dead people all day long, it would never get old. It must be difficult for you."

Merle nearly stopped and smiled at the thought. Difficult? No, it was what kept her alive. It's what made her look down on all the others that despised her existence. It's what made her know she was meant to be.

"No madame. It isn't difficult at all. It's just the duty of a Grim Reaper."


	2. Chapter 2

_Where was she? This dark place. _

_Opening her eyes, she found herself in a large body of water. She was sinking lower into the water but it was calming. Peaceful. There was no need to breath in this moment, so she stayed there and closed her eyes again. _

_But suddenly, a pressure formed in her ribs. It was painful. Her eyes shot open and the water around her seemed to be getting darker. She then realized what was happening. She was needing to breath. She was drowning. The peaceful waters around her suddenly seemed to be pushing down onto her, squeezing her lungs and forcing her to take a breath._

_In a panic she looked up above her. The surface, it wasn't too far away. There were streams of sunlight on the surface. She needed it. She needed air._

_Merle swam towards it, despite the distance. Hoping to break the surface, to breath in the air. The world around her was getting darker as she pushed herself up higher, her limbs growing tired from just the effort. _

_It was so close. She needed the air. Her arms moved harder against the water that threatened to drag her down. She moved more and more, the pain and pressure compressing her ribs, her throat burning to breath. Fear caused her heart to beat rapidly in her chest. It was loud in the quiet of the water. _

_She was almost there, her fingertips reaching up to the surface just an inch away. Almost-_

* * *

Merle shot up in her bed, inhaling sharply, the image of the dream fading as she woke up. She was panting, taking in the air greedily. There was a cold sweat covering her body, most likely from the fear within the dream. This was a normal affect after having that dream. It was one she had constantly lately, but one she never understood. Breathing. Grim Reapers, while they slept, had no reason to breath. Why was it that she always ended up waking up needing to breath? Or had a dream where breathing was a downfall for her? She wouldn't ever understand.

Sighing, the girl looked out of the window of her room. The sun wasn't up yet. Good. Then it was time for her daily duties.

Pushing her covers off, Merle got up from her bed and began to get ready to serve her mistress for the day. She changed out of her sleeping outfit into the maid uniform. Though there were other maids and butlers in the home of her Madame, she was made Vida's personal maid, therefore her duties lied with taking care of her.

Her work started the same everyday. Up before dawn, made sure the helpers of the house knew their jobs for the day, prepared a morning tea for Vida, and then helped her with anything she wished for her to. During the day, she took care of her duties as a maid, but when the sun went down, she was a Reaper once more.

It was a balance she had learned to make in a short amount of time. Merle had been working for the human woman as her maid for almost two years. Falling into the lifestyle of the maid wasn't as hard a transition as she had believed it to be. And it was one she actually found she liked. For someone to depend on her, to be thankful of the help given...

She remembered when she met Madame Cinderford.

As a Grim Reaper, her job was simply to collect the souls of the deceased. It was a job where she dealt with those already dead and decided whether or not to end their cinematic record. In her world, the other Reapers despised her, and the feeling was mutual. The only one who didn't outright hate her was the oddball Grell, who did nothing but pester her, whether she was working or not. She didn't know why things were the way they were, but she had grown up that way. All the other Reapers looking down on her and her abilities, but she wanted to prove them wrong in the end. But her life had been spent standing on her own, doing her best to make sure that despite their looking down, she wanted to keep her head up. It was living for herself and depending on no one but herself.

She had been on a job and to collect the soul of Master Cinderford, who had died of a heart attack in his home. She had entered the home silently, as usual, and had gone looking for the body. Upon finding it, she did as she normally did, cutting him to play his cinematic record and collecting his soul. However, there had been something different this time. There had been someone home. Vida had heard Merle enter the home and was frightened to death. Her husband had just died and someone had already broken into her home. Normally Merle never minded this, however, when she had turned to leave and Vida tripped and fell, she had found out that the wife of the man she had just reaped was blind as a bat.

For the first time in her life, she had stopped and gone to help her. From that moment, Vida had been kind to Merle, asking why a girl who seemed to not be a bad person would break into their home. She offered help to Merle, to give her a job, or anything she needed. At the time, she must have assumed her to be someone struggling to survive and was doing this as a last resort. While later on Merle explained to Vida the reason for her being there that night, she had never taken back the job she had given to her. She didn't accept the offer the moment it was given but the girl found herself returning again and again just to speak to the woman.

It was comforting, to have someone want her around, and value her company. Vida was a kind human, to which she rarely encountered, if she encountered one at all. Later, she had accepted the offer and Vida immediately made her the personal maid. At first it had been a hard job to balance along with her Grim Reaping, but she found a way to do it. Anything for her Madame.

Her uniform on and her hair pulled into a ponytail, Merle was down in the kitchen, speaking to everyone and giving their duties for the day. After she was done, she tended to the tea and to the snacks that would go with it. It was a task she took to every morning and it didn't even take any thinking time to get it done. Every now and again, she would experiment with different combinations and new teas. Those were days Vida always seemed more excited to try and take a guess before letting Merle tell her what it was.

Today it was Formosa Oolong tea. It was a Taiwanese tea that was picked in the Spring and known to have a sweet, delicate flavor. With it, she settled a few cut pieces of banana bread to be shared with the drink.

_Jeez, look at me. A Grim Reaper so focused on morning tea for a human. _Merle just shrugged it off, settling the cup, kettle, and bread onto a tray and taking it to Vida's room.

Upon approaching the door, she knocked softly. "Madame, it's time to wake up." She called, opening the door while holding the tray with one hand. The room was silent, but light had begun to fall through the windows. A sign of another day. Merle walked into the room, settling the tray down on a small table beside the bed. She went to the windows and began to open them, a cold breeze settling in as soon as the room was opened to the outside. The sun was just coming up on the horizon, painting the sky a beautiful orange. The smell of the pine trees on either side of the house was strong, but comforting all the same.

She turned from the window to look to Vida, who was just beginning to sit up in bed. "Good morning Merle. What do you have for me this morning?"

"This morning we have a Formosa Oolong tea. You are fond of sweet things, my lady, so I thought a little something new would be nice. However, the wait time on its arrival was more than I was expecting." She explained, coming to the side of the bed and beginning to pour tea into the cup for her.

"It smells wonderful. Thank you." Merle softly tapped the back of Vida's hand, making her grasp the cup as she handed it to her. There were certain motions and touches Merle had to learn to point Vida in the right direction.

"It's my duty as your maid, my lady. May I ask what you had in mind to do for the day?" She asked.

Vida froze then as she asked, the cup halfway to her lips. "Oh, that's right..." She murmured, settling the cup in her lap. She laughed nervously and smiled up at Merle. "Um, I forgot to mention, we're having...guests coming today."

_Guests!?_

"Madame, when did you decide we were having guests? I should have been notified to start preparing." Merle replied, trying hard not to make an outburst. Business was her life and making sure everything was done perfectly was what she strived for. She usually could handle things last minute, however they were a great nuisance.

"Well, it was all decided after you had left for the night. And I forgot to tell you once you had returned home." She said, still laughing nervously. Merle looked down at the woman lying in her bed, grinning playfully up at her. "But that should be no trouble for you to prepare for, right Merle?"

A soft sigh came before she smiled softly. "If it is for you my lady, it won't be." She would do her job, and she would do it perfectly, as she usually did. "By the way, may I ask who it is our guests will be?"

Vida had taken to her tea the moment Merle had replied. She sighed happily after taking a sip. "It's actually someone we haven't had around before and we're beginning business with one another. The Earl Phantomhive."


End file.
